Trendwatching or cherry picking?

I don't know about the rest of the world, but over here we are spoiled with some would-be trendwatchers who mistake eventspotting for trendwatching. Yesterday I read a column which basically took one isolated phenomenon which occured at the other side of the globe (in a totally different culture), scratched together a number of events (not based ony research) and mixed the two together into an opinion.

Now I'm not an expert on the subject under discussion (spoiled kids), but my wife happens to be a "expert by experience" having been a teacher for years and now running a show where parents with kids come in on a daily basis. And she confirms my feeling. What may (may!) be a symptom of a trend over in the US (one city that is), is not even actual over here. Far from it being a 'trend'.

I value trendwatching very much and we'll need more of it to keep our businesses running in this fast changing world. But it's also a métier that has a difficult time getting credibility. So in the name of trendwatching, let's keep the quality up to standards please!